Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Simple Purfling Jig Setup

I am in the process of making another violin. The back plate is the next phase and I wanted to have a more predictable and secure purfling jig arrangement for doing the harder maple wood back.  Below is a simple design I came up with, as many woodworkers do, of a stabilizing jig.  I thought I might share this with anyone interested.
 This jig was attached to my table saw fence, held in place with two clamps.  The purfling channel cutting jig is held in place by the wood arms and is secured with a c clamp.  Two blocks of wood next to the stabilizing arm eliminate movement from side to side and the weight of the c clamp over the purfling jig is sufficient to keep the jig down at the proper depth. also important with this jig is to have an external power source switch within arms distance as you cut so you can turn the Dremel tool on and off easily.  The Dremel tool is fixed and you move the violin plate with both hands to the right around the jig.  The process is scary but is very controllable. Just make sure to keep the plate in contact with the plate edge perpendicularly to the cutter and down with hand pressure as you work and you won't have any problems. Always test on scrap wood before cutting into the plate to check depth and distance from the plate edge.